Thursday, January 8, 2009

A Personal Record

OMG! Tonight was a great run! I beat my 5 mile PR by 3:34. An avg of 10:16 and the last mile was a 9:41 :) :) :) I LOVE running on cool clear nights. Off to shower then log back on for a few more hours of "real job" work.

Total Miles 5.0
Total Time 51:25
Average Pace 10:16

M1 10:40
M2 10:30
M3 10:19
M4 10:12
M5 09:42

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

What's My Workout???

I left the office at 8PM determined to return to the TUE/THU speed sessions. Before shutting down my computer I pulled up our Houston training schedule. 5 - 5 min x 2 min walk/jog @ 9:52 - 10:13. Hmmm, no speed workouts since Oct...

I was able to complete the first 5 minute cycle. I am okay that my walk breaks ended up being a little longer than 2 minutes, but I did run all 25 minutes at a 10:00 min pace.

It's almost 10PM, but I did it. Nothing like watching the Biggest Loser while on the treadmill :) Bring on THU's speed session!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Houston Marathon LSD

The 5 day forecast was 41 degrees with a high of 60. The 1 day forecast was 68 degrees, 80% humidity with a high of 85. I wish my job allowed me to TOTALLY miss my forecast projections!

Houston Marathon is in two weeks, I missed my 20 and 22 mile training runs. My last long run, 18 miles, was 6 weeks ago. Today’s goal was to get 23 miles on my legs pre-marathon. It wasn’t pretty - 9 miles running then 14 miles walking…. Why did we park the car 7 miles from the lake? So we couldn’t quit!

Will I run Houston Marathon? I don’t know. If I survive the long work hours for the next two weeks and the forecast is weather perfect, I will probably run. If I don’t run my ego will remain fully intact. This is marathon #17. I haven’t run a marathon in 3+ years. I didn’t want to run another marathon unless I raised the bar and trained to break 5 hours. I trained perfectly from August until I got what I thought was a routine cold the first week of November. The doctor was quite surprised I was able to run 16, 12 and 18 miles, but said “NO” when I asked about my upcoming 20 miler. Was it because my x-rays revealed bronchitis and pre-pneumonia and I had just finished a breathing treatment? I didn’t run a step for 2 weeks then ran the DWRM half marathon. Thankfully my finish time confirmed my training was still on target. Then I caught another cold resulting in more meds and 2 weeks of no running.

Why would I run Houston Marathon? The same reason I stared down the Texas heat all summer to run 4 miles, hit the wall, walk 5 miles. My health has declined in both 2007 and 2008. Running and completing races literally keeps my foot in the game and is the only way I know I am continuing to win my battle against MS.

Thank you, Peggy, Frances and Ken. Without each of you, a sub 5 marathon may have remained only a dream. If it isn’t Houston, I know I will achieve this goal.

Total Miles: 23.84
Total Time 5:37:23
Avg Pace 14:46

M1 11:15
M2 11:18
M3 11:13
M4 11:18
M5 11:23
M6 11:16
M7 16:32
M8 11:21
M9 11:34
M10 13:08
M11 14:52
M12 17:00
M13 17:14
M14 17:27
M15 18:01
M16 16:52
M17 16:26
M18 16:46
M19 16:33
M20 16:47
M21 16:55
M22 17:20
M23 14:45

Thursday, January 1, 2009

I am a Runner!

New Year's Day. Rolled out of bed. Brushed my teeth and put on my running clothes.

I have been battling upper respiratory infections since the DRC half marathon. Today was my first run since DWRM half marathon. I ran 2 miles, coughed 2 minutes then ran 2 more miles. I missed both my 20 and 23 mile training runs and Houston Marathon is approx two weeks away.
I am a runner and began the New Year as always -- running :)

Total Miles 4.0 Total Time 43:58 Average Pace 10:59
M1 10:44
M2 10:58
M3 11:03
M4 11:13